Good eats is where it’s at this week as San Diego Restaurant Week’s rare spring edition wraps up. Or how about a place or two with great views? Try one for the music and another for the aspiring rangers among you.
Foodies know that San Diego Restaurant Week happens in January and September. But, sigh, pandemic. So, with COVID restrictions easing, the promotion continues through Sunday, and includes 160 restaurants where you can enjoy prix-fixe menus at the price point of your choice. They start at $10 for lunch or $20 for dinner – and you can choose by location, type of fare, or even based on outdoor dining.
Balboa Park venues continue to welcome visitors again. The Museum of Photographic Arts reopens at 11 a.m. Friday, just in time to launch two new exhibits, one focusing on the work of young photographers from around the world. The San Diego History Center re-opens too.
Mainly Mozart has been a mainstay of the drive-in pandemic experience. Their Dual Orchestra event, featuring New York’s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Washington D.C.’s National Symphony, continues at 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, with shows in the west lot of the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Take in the music and the ocean view too. Programs include Mozart, Rossini, Bach, with an all-Mozart day planned Sunday. Admission starts at $49 a vehicle.
Restaurant Week has some fancy fare. But how about some no-nonsense barbecue? Wise Ox in North Park is hosting the Ox Barbecue biweekly on Saturdays. Show up at 11 a.m. for the best of their smoked meats, which will be up for grabs at their shop, 2855 El Cajon Blvd., until they sell out.
The Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma celebrates National Park Week with a Junior Ranger Day on Saturday, and no-fee entry too. Families are invited to pick up free copies of the park’s new Junior Ranger booklets and work on activities as they explore. There’s a badge too for successfully completing tasks. But how about other goodies? There’s also a scavenger hunt, a good way to to spy the panoramic views around the monument.
The Fern Street Circus seems the perfect pairing for the Flower Fields. It happens at 1 p.m. Saturday as the San Diego circus performs amid the Carlsbad blooms. The show is part of a full slate of entertainment and activities taking place during April weekends at the fields.
Finally, two streams continue at San Diego Repertory Theatre. Higher and Higher: A Rock n’ Soul Party Featuring Gregory Chester, concludes Sunday. Chester, a Broadway veteran, sings classics from artists like James Brown, Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson. Hype Man, about a rap trio on the verge of the big time, that must confront their own roles in seeking justice for police brutality, privilege and cultural appropriation, will be available through May 8. Both shows cost $35, though the theater will accept pay-what-you-can for Hype Man.